“ahhhhh, it hurts. Stop it. Let me go.” Fu Han screamed in pain as a guard kept whipping him.
This has been going on for over a week now. They have used many different methods of torture on him. At first he didn't know why they were torturing him like this, he even thought that the emperor had found out that he had used his power and name behind his back in order to do as he pleased and this was why he was being tortured. Although he had confessed to everything he had done under the influence of the emperor's power, they didn't stop torturing him.
First they gave him nothing to eat or drink, then they forced him to eat food that was already rotten. Consort Fu naturally tried to prevent this and use his authority as the emperor's consort, but failed. They held him down and gagged the food down his throat. When he puked, they picked it up, shoved it down his throat and covered his mouth. Consort Fu was forced to swallow it, even though he found it disgusting. He was whipped with different types of whips, some had barbs, some were thicker than the last or extremely fine, some also had poison on them which made his body itch and burn. It felt like thousands of ants were crawling over his body and slowly eating him up.
That feeling almost drove him crazy. His body was covered from head to toe with whip marks and burn marks. He was not allowed to use the toilet so he had to do his toiletry in the corner of the cell. After some time the air in the cell was so bad that one would faint from it as it was so dirty. It was only when they started questioning him about Concubine Li, did he know why he was in here. He remembered how the emperor had behaved the day he went to Li Chang Bo to take his anger out on him. The way he looked at him, as if he was ready to sacrifice the whole world for him.
Deep in thought, he did not realize that another person had entered the dungeon and was watching him being tortured.
"Who are you?" a deep, bone-chilling voice rang out throughout the room, snapping him out of his thoughts. Emperor Feng examined his eyes deeply and noticed the panic in them. Thinking over and over about their first encounter, Feng Yu Han noticed several things which made no sense, such as how consort Fu knew exactly where he was when he was injured, or how he wasn't afraid to see a semi-dead man in armour bleeding to death on the ground and even taking him into his house. Was he not afraid of being followed by people who would kill him if they found out he had taken him in? On top of that, he was not in the least surprised when he found out Feng Yu Han's identity. His emotions were fake, but Feng Yu Han didn't realise it at that moment.
Now that he saw fear in his eyes, he was sure that Fu Han was not the person everyone thought he was. ‘Maybe this is also the reason why he is so intent on his baby?’
Feng Yu Han's eyes narrowed, he grabbed the whip from the guard's hand and struck Fu Han once. Fu Han cried out in pain and curled up.
"Zhen asked you a question! So you are to answer me! WHO are you and WHAT do you want from Concubine Li?"
Trembling, Consort Fu looked up: "This concubine doesn't understand what the emperor is saying." He batted his eyes, tilted his head and tried to look pitiful. "This concubine is the one the emperor fell in love with before this concubine entered the palace. This concubine doesn't understand why the emperor is doing this. It hurts this concubine's feelings. This concubine has nothing to do with Brother Li. I don't know what Brother Li told the emperor, but it's not true. This concubine has always wanted the best for everyone and has even gone to Brother Li and fed him and helped him, but he has always been rude to this concubine and refused this concubine's help. Your Majesty must believe me."
Li Chang Bo got up from the bed and noticed that Feng Yu Han was not in the room.
'Hey Xiao Yi, where is he?'
[Host, he has gone to the dungeon and is currently questioning Fu Han]
Li Chang Bo went towards the dungeon, although he was stopped by the eunuch before he entered the dungeon.
"Concubine Li, you are not permitted to enter this place."
"Don't worry, if the emperor asks you why I entered this place, tell him that I insisted and you were unable to stop me."
He bypassed the eunuch and the guards standing guard outside the dungeon and made his way inside. On the way to Fu Han's dungeon, he saw many people and heard shouts from everywhere. Rounding the corner, he stopped and listened to their conversations. "That's not what Zhen had asked you! Where are you from and what is it you want from Concubine Li?" Feng Yu Han asked a second time, but Concubine Fu still failed to give him the answer he wanted to hear, so the torture was turned up a notch.
Li Chang Bo heard the screams and cries of Fu Han struggling to talk Feng Yu Han out of the torture. Li Chang Bo knew for a fact that the reason Fu Han would not say where he came from or why he did what he did was because he was not authorised to tell anyone about the existence of the system as it was forbidden. But this was precisely Li Chang Bo's goal, he wanted Fu Han to destroy himself, knowing that if the host revealed the existence of the system, he would be directly eliminated from the system and the system would look for a new host to bind with.
Feng Yu Han saw a phenomenon that was out of this world and beyond explanation. Consort Fu's face and body changed, not the new scars, but his skin colour changed from white to wheat-yellow, from smooth to dry and blotchy with black spots. His hair lost its shine and became dry, his small face grew larger, his eyes became small and dull, his lips lost their pink colour and pimples formed on his face.
[Haha, look at their faces. They're hilarious. I'm dying].
The system beamed the images of the guards reaction to Fu Han’s transformation, in front of Li Chang Bo's eyes and cracked up laughing. Li Chang Bo's laughter almost escaped his lips when he saw the image.
'Damn, those faces look exquisite. You almost made me laugh! What if they notice us!' Li Chang Bo replied as he fanned his face trying to suppress his urge to laugh.
The system hovered in front of him and looked at him blankly in confusion: [I thought you didn't care if we were noticed].
'Yes, but I'd still rather he didn't see us now. I don't wanna have to explain why I'm here eavesdropping on him.'
The system just shrugged its shoulders and went back into the space, where it looked at its photo album full of comical facial expressions of various people from the three worlds.
"Are you insisting on avoiding answering my question?"
"This concubine really doesn't know what the emperor wants from him." Fu Han said through gritted teeth. He would rather be tortured than lose the system, it's not like he can't escape the torture with the help of the system. Once he escapes and gets his appearance up to peak condition, he'll take revenge on Li Chang Bo, since all this is happening because of him.
Feng Yu Han handed the guard standing on the side a small jar with a pill inside. "I don't care how you do it but he has to be handed this today."
The guard held the jar tightly in his hand and bowed, "Yes, your majesty."
Before he had left the room, Li Chang Bo had already left and was waiting for him at the entrance. Outside, Emperor Feng was a little surprised to see Li Chang Bo, he walked up to him and firmly hugged him. It felt like he hadn't seen him for days, even though only a couple of hours had passed.
"Baby, what are you doing here? Do you need something?" he asked as he caressed Li Chang Bo's cheek.
"You weren't there when I woke up. I heard you were here, that's why I came" Li Chang Bo said as his gaze shifted from Feng Yu Han to the dungeon. Feng Yu Han's eyes were fixed on Li Chang Bo's face so he noticed his abnormality and knew exactly what was going on in his lover's little head. Amused, he gently turned his head towards him and tapped him lightly on the head. "Why can I see many little wheels turning in your little head?" Li Chang Bo looked at him with a slightly offended look. "hmm, what are you thinking about right now?" he asked, squeezing his baby's soft cheeks. "Hanhan, stop teasing me. I wasn't thinking about anything," Li Chang Bo said pouting as Feng Yu Han continued to knead his cheeks and pull funny faces. 'why is he so cute?'
Li Chang Bo turned his head and bit his hand, getting an astonished face from his lover. Li Chang Bo grinned provocatively, "Serves you right, instead of being with me in the morning, you're with him." Feng Yu Han gently pinched his ear, which earned him a soft hiss from Li Chang Bo: "Naughty." Li Chang Bo turned round and walked away quickly.
Emperor Feng was aware that his visit to the dungeon today had greatly unsettled his baby. He knows that his carelessness in the past has resulted in his baby being abused to the point of trauma. Only now he wasn't really sure what he had to do to make him feel safe. The only thing he could do now was stand by his side and get rid of anyone who wanted to harm him. Sighing slightly, he walked after him with his hands crossed behind his back.
—--------
An imperial decree has been published stating that Consort Fu has been demoted from his rank to commoner for violating the imperial order and exploiting the emperor's favour to his own advantage by mistreating the palace staff and concubine Li. All his assets are confiscated and anyone who helps him is considered a traitor and convicted of treason for going against the imperial order. And the concubine Li was promoted to consort Li, second only to the empress, because he is benevolent and caring.
This caused an uproar for a while, not because they were against Fu Han's demotion, but because they wondered why the emperor's favourite was demoted to a commoner when he was the most powerful person in the harem. None of the ministers were opposed to this imperial decree, because they were strongly opposed to a commoner sitting in a third-ranking consort's seat in the emperor's harem. A prince was much more suitable.
“Does any of you know why the consort got demoted?” one of the many concubines of the emperor asked the other concubines who were with her. They were originally sitting in the imperial garden, drinking tea and enjoying the view until one of the servants came announcing the imperial edict.
Another concubine rolled her eyes and said, “Why are you still calling him consort? That bitch finally got what he deserved. A low life like himself thinks that he can order us nobles around like slaves. He was only able to act so arrogantly because he had the emperor behind him but now that he has lost the Emperor’s favor he is nothing.”
The others snickered, “But, I heard that he is in the dungeon.”
Silence reigned and everyone turned to the person who made that comment, shocked and horrified. "How do you know that?" "Yes, how do you know that? Surely it's just a rumour."
"Sister is right. Why would he be in prison if he hasn't done anything wrong? The emperor may be fierce but he is not unjust." When the concubine saw that no one believed her, she became angry and flustered. She slapped the table lightly and made a motion to stand up. "What I'm saying is true. My maid heard it from guards who had talked about it." They all looked at each other, trying to find out the reason behind his arrest in the other man's face, but they found nothing. The Ger, who was sitting next to her, nudged her lightly, "Why do you stop talking now. Tell us. Why is he in prison?"
"My maid told me that the guards said Fu Han was in prison because he was caught by the emperor when he tried to torture Concubine Li, sorry Consort Li, yet again. Ever since then he's been in prison.”
Word spread that Fu Han was in prison because he offended Consort Li which was also the reason why he was demoted.
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Nahema.K.